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13 thoughts on “SBGR”
if only this were true for the wee ones.
For what it’s worth, recently this is how I have been thinking about the interpersonal communication rubric. A is exceeding standard, B is meeting standard, C is sometimes meeting/sometimes not, D and below is doesn’t meet the standard.
I love the simplicity in this Diane. Now that I grade Interpersonal at 60% in level 1, I could use some nice language like this. My school is moving toward SBG.
And Ben, I love that term “approaching”… it’s gentle, yet firm, and to the point.
Yeah, I think I will re-write the rubric a little to include: exceeding, meeting, approaching, … what’s the final category? Not yet meeting?
Ours is basic. Means they don’t know anything about the task.
” This morning I said to a child in English that right now/at that moment in class her behavior was only “approaching” the standard”
Ben, I STILL struggle with assessing students on interpersonal mode, so please tell me, and other people too, what do you think a 3 or “Meets” looks like? OR does it depend on the kid? After we do a story I have kids self-assess using an interpersonal mode rubric and then I assess them as well…Still struggle with getting this right.
I was wondering when we would hear from our fantastic Maine Hiker of the Year again. Great to hear from you Annemarie!
I was just talking to Linda Li and our department chair Zach Al Moreno on this, about 20 minutes ago. They both give student self assessments on the learning habits part of our SBGR approach here, and report that most kids tend to be extraordinarily harsh on themselves.
But, given the way we teach, if the kids are all following along in their own unique way, some processing faster than others but everything being fairly right with the world (it’s interesting and they are focused), Linda and Zach said that they see most of their kids as Meeting with a few Approaching.
I think we should struggle with being kind. These kids are pulled apart, labeled, branded because the’re left handed (Paul Simon) and it happens all day. Can’t they have a class where they come in, try to do everything we ask in terms of the Classroom Rules, do their best (God bless them, they are children and they are trying. Isn’t that enough?), and be labeled as Meeting the (as you infer already vague) standard?
Everyone is grading them down all day. If they try in my class, I know what that looks like for me and apparently for Zach and Linda as well, and so I am much faster to say that they are meeting the standard than, perhaps, other teachers.
Related: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68cNng4ihLM
Yes, that makes sense and I agree with more quickly assessing them as meeing the standard. I actually think that one kids “3” may look different than another kid’s “3.”
You wrote:
“The learning habits, especially those of respect and collaboration, align with the Classroom Rules of listening with the intent to understand and one person speaking and the others listening and doing their 50%, etc.. ”
Yes the learning habits totally do align with classroom rules and norms (for us it’s called “HOWLS-habits of work and learning”) and I decided to make the participation in class – what you talk about above – an interpersonal mode grade, so it’s no longer a HOWL grade but rather a CONTENT grade. And I let the students know this. Also wondering how others do this and if they separate out content from learning habits.
…wondering how others do this and if they separate out content from learning habits….
This was a thread here literally for three years. We compromised with the great unveiling of jGR a few years ago. It was such a masterpiece of assessment because it connected the learning habits/interpersonal skills – what Barb Vallejos has called visible non-verbal behaviors – with assessment as you are, Annemarie.
A student learns because she wants to and it has nothing to do with thinking or measuring academic gains, those who don’t appreciate the vast difference between how students learn language – socially – vs. other subjects.
Many still want to separate content from the interpersonal skill but to me they are the same and can’t be separated. The how drives the what in our subject far more than in other subjects. So my kids understand that what they do in class in terms of visible non-verbal behaviors will largely determine their grade. It has a huge effect on class timbre.
Yea I say the interpersonal mode IS the content and it’s one of the power standards in my class. When I spent the day with the choir conductor I realized that I could totally justify giving a content grade for interpersonal mode because of the importance of body position, posture, eye contact, and jaw position while singing. I tell my students while making large sweeping gestures with my hands that the language is happening here (up and around the room) and not here-and I put my head down and point down.
Annemarie,
I’m so glad you shared this analogy of the choir. It reinforces what I was trying to sayt when I wrote this (which will be on my website/blog that goes live on Oct. 1)
“Think of yourselves as a choir.” This is my general call to all my students as we begin the year.
This analogy works for a few reasons.
-Our students are familiar with the concept of choirs and what is expected.
-Choirs are supposed to sound pleasant. There is harmony.
-Choir is more that just singing; it’s about facial expression and body language too.
-In a choir, there may be soloists, but they are pre-determined (our bleaters and echoers and other student jobs we assign).
And most importantly…
-Everyone sings
In a choir the director leads. She’s the one who knows what the song should sound like. Same thing in a language acquisition classroom, where we are the only ones who can speak the language.
When we make this analogy clear early on, we can also head off potential disruptions and/or negative relationships from two particular students who have a hard time harmonizing (but love to sing).
1. The wiseguy who likes to think he may be able to disrupt the flow of our back-and-forth and/or subvert our agenda to create a PLACE (Positive Language Acquiring Community Environment… but don’t repeat that acronym, I just made it up). He will wait til just the right time to make his comment so that everyone in the class hears him. He wants to be the director. He wants his classmates’ approval and tries to get it by gaining our disapproval.
2. The teacher-pleaser who is hoping to grab that valedictorian spot for graduation (bless her heart) by making sure that every one of her teachers recognizes her as the best and the brightest. She answers confidently and promptly. But she intimidates others from answering in the process.
Very helpful!
Jim! Yes, love it! I was just telling one of my classes today that I learn so much about teaching from my choir conductor. And how I understand how important it is to begin class with some kind of warm up just as we do in choir-TPR, Yoga in Spanish, A round of “baila con tu cuerpo” or just holding fingers up and having kids call out the number they see in Spanish-they LOVE this. I got the idea from my choir conductor as he does the same thing with us. There is quite a correlation between how we teach using TCI and how choir conductors (or at least mine) teach AND assess. Join a choir if you don’t know what I mean. Or my choir anyway here in Portland. My conductor uses a tremendous amount of humor to create a comfortable environment and manages to keep all parts engaged. And he’s VERY positive. If you ever want to watch a brilliant educator who is not a Language teach visit York High School in Maine-Rob Westerberg-a true master teacher,